Means for controlling and reversing vessels.



H. 0. WESTENDARPQ MEANS FOR CONTROLLING AND REVERSING VESSELS.

rfl u LfIr- L APPLICATION FILED MAR; 28. I917- I I M M I wan-1 Fig. I.

Patented. Febr19, 1918.

4 SHEETS-SHEET I v 5 Henry 0.

Inventor? Westendarp,

H. 0. WESTENDARP.

MEANS FOR CONTROLLING AND REVERSING VESSELS.

APPLICATION FILED MAR-2B. 1911.

Patented Feb. 19, 1918.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

Nil-v I III III/ 1 111111 20 L Hem-y O.,Wes'cendar-p. L

Patented Feb; 19, 1918.

4 suns-sneer 3.

. Inventor? We H. O. WESTENDARP. MEANS FOR CONTROLLING AND REVERSING VESSELS.

APPLICATION FILED MAR-28.1917- Patented Feb. 19, 1918.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

Inventor? Henry 0. Westendar p,

HENRY O. WESTENDARP, OF SAUGUS, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY, A CORPORATION. OF NEW YORK.

MEANS FOR CONTROLLING AND REVERSING- VESSELS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. re, rare.

Application filed March 28, 1917. Serial No. 158,082.

. controlling submarines whereby they can be more readily submerged and brought to the surface. I

For a consideration of what I believe to be novel and my invention, attention is directed to the accompanying description and claims appended thereto. I

In the accompanying drawings which are I illustrative of my invention, Figure 1 is a view in side elevation of the stern portion of a vessel equipped withmy improved apparatus; Fig. 2 is an inverted plan view of the same; Fig. 3 is a rear view of the vessel; Fig. 4 is a detail view of the rudder operating mechanism; Fig. 5 is a front view of said mechanism; Figs. 6, 7, 8 and 9 are detail views of the rudder Figs. 10 to 13 are detail views of modifications whereby stop-' ping and reversing may be more effectively carried out, and Figs. '14 and 15 show my improvedflapparatus applied to a submarine for the purpose of causing it to be sub merged and brought to the surface.

16 indicates the hull of the vessel which may be of any suitable or usual construction, but preferably it should be so constructed, or s ecial means provided,-to per? mit of the su stantial closure of the space 17 indicates the shaft of the motive po wera cut, such as an internal combustion en g ns and 18 apropeller of'any sultable char- 'ance it to a certain extent.

acter. The angle which the shaft occupies with respect to the keel of the vessel is not material, but the angle which it makes with the rudder post should be greater than 90 if the best results are to be obtained. The purpose of this is to prevent the water leaving the propeller from being deflected downward under the rudder where a portion of its effect would be lost in slowing down and reversing the vessel as will appear more fully later. The rudder comprises two principal [members 19 and 20, which, for ordinary steering purposes, move as a single unit, and for that purpose can be considered as such. For decreasing the speed of the .vessel, stopping and reversing it, the members of the rudder are separated, one mem- "ber moving clockwise and the other anticlockwise about the axis of the rudder post. To this end such member is made of suitable size and thickness of stock. One mem-.

suitable bearing23 at its lower end which may be supported on an extension of the keel as is usualin such cases and one or more intermediate bearings. It is also provided with a bearing '24 at its upper end which is supported at any suitable point. The sleeve 22 is also provided with the necessary bearings. As any rudder of this type, i. e. one supported at one side is sometimes hard to move, it is preferable to bal- To this end a balancing device 25, Figs. 1 and 9, is provided which is loosely mounted on the spin-' dle 21. To hold said balancing device in alinement with the rudder when it is closed;

i. e., the two members in parallel alinement,

extensions or arms 26 are attached to said device which extend between the twomem hers 19 and 20, said members engaging and holding the arms. Under these condltions a partlal and suflicient balance is effected -.pose being to balance'the'pressureon the rudder members to a greater or less extent when they are opened. To make surethat the parts of the balancing device separate with the partsof the rudder when the latter starts to open special means are employed. These can be made in a variety of ways. As

shown, pins 26 are mounted on the rudder members or on the balancing means which enter the members or the means as the case may be. The fit should be tight enough to cause some friction. After the parts of the balancing device are well started in their opening movement the pressure of the water will cause them to follow the individual rudder members. If the surfaces around the pins and those around the holes in the rece1ving parts are made smooth there will also be a suction effect which is helpful during the. starting movement. In some cases the pins can be'omitted and reliance placed uponsaid suction effect. .In order to move "the rudder for normal steering, and also to separate the members for slowing the vessel, stopping and reversing it, the following mechanism is provided.

, On the deck or at any other convenient place is located a shaft 30, Fig. 4, which is suitably supported in bearings. Keyed tothe shaft isa winding drum 31 and loosely mounted thereon is a second winding drum 32 to which is aflixed the steering wheel 33..

Rigidly attached to the shaft is a lever 01 arm 34 terminating in a handle v 35. On the front face of the wheel are-locking notches 36, Fig. 5, and on the lever is a locking device comprising a spring pressed finger 37 arranged to enter the notches and lock the wheel and lever so that they move as a unit. For ordinar steering purposes the said parts are he ed and rotation of the wheel steers the vessel as usual. This is accomplished by means of chains or wire ropes 38, Figs. 1 and 4, or a combination of both, which pass around said drums and also around drums 39 and 39, the drum 39 being attached to the spindle 21 and drum 39 to the sleeve 22. .It is evident from the above that if the wheel and lever are unlocked'and one'is rotated w th respect to the other that one member of the rudder will be moved clockwise and the other anti-clockwise with the result of spreading or se arating said members and opposing the orward movement of the vessel to a greater or les extent, it being assumed of course, that the propeller 18 is continuously. rotated. This retarding action increases until the two.

members occupy the'same plane and are approach each other, but on the opposite side of the rudder post axis, with the result of causing a backing or reversing of the vessel.

This action increases as the members approach each other iintil they form an acute angle, as shown in'Fi'g. 2 where the maximum reversing action is obtained. This re versing is. due to the fact that the water discharged from the propeller instead of escaping freely is forced by the rudder mem bers to reverse its direction and flow forward. Under these conditions the reaction of the body of water is suflicient to cause the vessel to'move astern instead of ahead and at a suitable rate of speed for the purpose. To quickly stop the vessel the rudder members may be immediately moved to their forward posltions. After folding or moving the rudder forward by the independent manipulation of the steering wheel and hand lever, and locking the parts by the latch, the

wheel can be turned and the rudder as a whole will act to steer the vessel at the same time it is acting as a reversing means provided the members have not been moved to their extreme forward position to get full reversing effect. If said members have been so moved steering is accomplished by unlocking the hand lever 34 and wheel 33 and rotating the proper member independently of the'other. For example, the rudder member 20 can be moved to the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2, the member 19 remaining in its extreme forward position.

From actual experience with a vessel equipped with a rudder of the character described, I have ascertained that when the members of the rudder are opened to reverse the vessel a portion of the water leaving the propeller flows upward 'above the normal level or surface where it entrai'ns air and then returns to the propeller.- The presence of air in the water in the region of the propeller causes cavitation and results in partial failure of the backing operation. I have discovered meansby which this objectionable action can be prevented. As previously stated,-the axis of the propeller shaft and the rudder post are preferably 'disposed at an angle sllghtly greater than a right angle, the purpose being to prevent water l'eavmg the propeller from being deflected under the rudder where its effect would be'lost. The

arrangement shown has a tendency to deflect the water over the rudder. To avoid this the under surface of the hull is so shaped on both sides of'the center at the ortion marked 40 that when the, rudder mem ers are moved to the position shown in Fig. 2,. there will be little or no space between the upper .edges and the hull. This causes substantially all 7 of the water from the propeller to be reversed and flow forward thereby giving the maximum reversing effect to the vessel. In-

asmuch as my invention can readily be applied to existing vessels which do not have the portion 40 of the hull constructed as described abOVe, it is necessary to rovide other means to accomplish this resu t. One such means is shownin Figs. 10 and 11 and comprises filling blocks 41, one on each side, which are secured to the under sideof'the hull and properly shaped to conform thereto, and also to the upper edges of the rudder members when moved to reversing position. The blocks may be formedseparately or in a single structure. As such an arrangement will interfere somewhat with the smooth lines of the hull which are generally to be debut as soon as the members are moved into reversing position as shown in Fig.\ 12 they act to receive the water from the propeller and direct it forward in an effective manner and prevent spiilingover the top.

In Figs. 14 and 15 my invention is shown applied to a submarine'for the purpose of causing it to submerge or rise to the surface as may be desired. In these figures and 16 indicate the shafts of the propelling motors, each having a propeller 47. Associated with each of the propellers is a folding rudder of the type previously described. The supports 48 for the rudder are carried by the hull and are suitably held in place. Inside the hull are beveled gears 49 and 50 which mesh with other gears on the solid shaft 51 and hollow shaft 52. The shafts are rotated by the hand wheel 53 and handle 54. The rudders during normal operation above or below the surface of the water extend rearwardly as shown in dotted lines, Fig. 15. To submerge or rise the members are manipulated in the same manner as previously described, but they move about horizontal axes instead of vertical. When operating submerged the folding rudders can be used to change the course of the submarine in a vertical plane.

For steering the vesseksa rudder 55 of ordinary construction is employedwhich is actuated by the hand wheel 56 through suitable power transmitting means.

In accordance with the provisions of the patent statutes, I have described the principle of operation of my invention, together with the apparatus which I now consider to represent the best embodiment thereof; but

I desire to have it understood that the apparatus shown is only illustrative and that the invention can be carried out by other means.

What Iv claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is 1. In a vessel, the combination of a hull, a propeller therefor, a driving shaft therefor,

a rudder comprising two independently movable members and a. balancing means therefor, a rudder post, said members normally occupying a position astern of said post with the balancing means forward of said post, and a means forswinging said members from said astern position to forward positions where they form acute angles with said shaft for deflecting the water from the propeller forwardly and cause the vessel to move astern.

2. In a vessel, the combination of a hull, a propeller therefor, a propeller shaft, a rudder comprising two members that act as a unit to steer the vessel when moving ahead,

a post for the rudder, means for moving the members from positions astern of the post to' positions ahead of said post for causing the vessel to go astern, and means acting when the vessel goes astern to prevent the water leaving the propeller from freely flowing upward between the upper edges of said members and the hull.

3. In a vessel, the combination of a hull, a propeller therefor, a propeller shaft, a 'rud der comprising two members that act as a unit to steer the vessel, a post on which the members are pivotally supported, said post being inclined astern with respect to the shaft by an amount greater than degrees, means for swinging the members around the post to positions making acute angles with respect to the shafts for reversing, and means for preventing the water leaving the propeller from flowing freely between the tops of said members and the hull.

4;. In a vessel, the combination of a hull, a

propeller from flowing freely between the tops of said members and the hull.

5. In a vessel, the combination of a hull, a propeller therefor which is always-driven in the same direction, a divided rudder, a support therefor, a balancing device which is loosely mounted on the support, and means for moving the members of the rudder from a position wholly astern of the axis of the support to positions forward of said axis where they form acute angles with a plane passing longitudinally of said vessel for causing the vessel to change its direction of movement.

. on the support and follow said members in their movements, and means for moving the members of the rudder from a posltion wholly astern of the axis of the support to positions forward of said axis where they form acute angles with a plane passing longitudinally of said vessel for causing the vessel to change its direction of movement. 7

7. In a vessel, the combination of a hull,

a propeller therefor which is always driven in the same direction, a divided rudder, a support therefor, a divided balancing device, the parts of which are loosely mounted on the support and follow said members in their movements, means which cause the parts of the balancing device to initially follow the rudder members in their movements, and means for moving themembers of the rudder from a position wholly astern of the axis of the support to positions forward of said axis where they form acute angles with a plane passing longitudinally of said vessel for causing'the vessel to change its direction of movement.

8. In a vessel, the combination of a hull, a propeller therefor which is always driven in the same direction, a divided rudder, a

. support therefor, means cooperating with each member of the rudder to prevent the water discharged by the propeller from flowing over the tops thereof when the members are in their forward positions, and means for moving the rudder members simultaneously or individually from a position asternof the axis of the support to positions forwardof said axis where they form acute angles with a plane passing longitudinally of said Vessel.

9. In a vessel, the combination of a hull,

a propeller therefor which is always driven in the same direction, a divided rudder,'a support therefor, a device secured to and moving with each member of the rudder which cooperates with the hull to prevent a propeller therefor which is always driven in the same direction, a rudder comprising two'members, a rudder post upon which the members are supported, a pair of winding drums, means including connectors that pass over the drums for moving the members, a releasable connection between the drums whereby they can be moved simultaneously or separately, and means for preventing the water leaving the propeller from flowing freely, between the tops of said members and the hull.

' In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this 26th day of March, 1917.

HENRY O. WESTENDARP. 

